Avatar: The Legend of Senna
by Rebel-Angel-Hero
Summary: 300 years after Avatar Aang brings peace to the world, it is once again threatened. This time, it's the new Avatar, Senna, who holds the fate of the world in her hands. But is she up to it? Rated T for violence and possible language, somewhat unlikely.
1. Part One, Chapter One

**Sue me for doing this, I suppose. Yes, most of the characters from the series will be absent. I'll try to reference them somewhat, at least. And I do promise that Aang will appear. But that's not for a while. First, foreshadowing! Enjoy.**

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><p><em>Chapter One<em>

The waves were finally calming as the small fishing boat inched its way back home through the dissipating storm, though the captain knew another, more dangerous one was on its way. But storms came with the territory, and they were nothing new to his seasoned crew.

By lantern light he peered out through the inky blackness, trying to make out the look of the clouds against the dark sky. His gaze drifted down to the undulating waves, and it was there that his attention was caught by a circling bird.

While there were birds on the sea, it was unusual for them to be out so late at night or after so violent a storm, and this did not look like any sea bird he knew. He squinted his old, tired eyes, trying to see clearer, and with a shock he made out the form of a body floating on the water.

With a yell to those on deck duty, he had the ship wheeled around and brought nearer. The figure looked to be a woman, no older than his niece– eighteen or nineteen at the most. By some miracle she hadn't been pulled under the surface by the weight of her soaked-through clothes, instead floating along until some rescue came. The bird that circled above her let out a squawk, and glided down to land tiredly on the rail of the deck.

The girl was pulled aboard, where it was determined– to the captain's relief– that she was still alive, and still breathing. Her dark hair was splayed messily around her head like a crown, and in better light the captain would be able to tell what the make of her clothes were, in hopes of determining where she was from.

"Wonder what she's doing out here," one crewmember ventured, breaking the silence.

"Wonder how she even survived in this storm," another pointed out. "She must be some kind of witch."

"Don't act like an old fool," a third said. "Magic don't exist. She's probably one of those waterbenders."

"Benders can't bend when they're asleep," the second countered.

"Enough," the captain interjected, ending the debate. "It doesn't matter how this girl managed to survive. I want to know who she is." He knelt down next to her and looked her over for any descriptive details. Her clothes looked fairly nondescript, not being specific to any of the nations. She didn't seem to be hurt excepting what looked like a faded burn scar on her middle and a cut on the back of her left shoulder; whatever had hit her there had left a rip in her clothes. When glancing over the rip, he noted something on her back, like a marking. He carefully pushed away the clothing to uncover an intricate tattoo on her back. A triangle of symbols was there; the top seemed to resemble a fire pictogram; the right, an air pictogram; and the bottom, which looked the freshest, a water pictogram.

Hoping that his suspicions might not be confirmed, he turned her back over and looked at the pendant hung around her neck. It had the same three symbols as on her back, but a fourth, an earth pictogram, made it into a square– or a circle.

The captain stood up, a slight frown on his face. "Take her to the medical room and lock her in," he ordered. "And make sure you tie her up with some of that firebending-resistant rope we've got. And bring the hawk with her, it seems to be hers."

The crew looked at the captain, astonished and confused. "Captain, what are you talking about? How do you know she's a firebender?" one asked, voicing the opinions of all present as other nodded.

"Because, men," he said, turning to go below deck, "this girl is the Avatar."

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><p>The first thing that Senna noted as she drifted into groggy consciousness was that whatever she was lying on wasn't very comfortable. The second thing she noted– and likely the more important thing– was that her hands were bound. She tried simply burning what she gathered was ropes into ashes, but whatever they were made of, all her bending did was give herself some nasty burns on her wrists. Yelping with pain, she tried to sit up slowly.<p>

"You'll find that those ropes are very difficult to destroy without hurting yourself," a voice said from a corner. She whipped her head around– regretting it as her temples throbbed– to find a middle-aged man sitting in a chair, watching her.

"Where am I?" she asked. "Where's Kini?"

"If you're talking about your bird, she's right here," he said, pointing to a table where, to Senna's relief, her hawk was perched. "You're on a fishing boat headed back to the South Pole," he told her. "We found you floating on the water after a storm. I'll admit, I didn't expect to find _you_, of all people, out here."

Senna's blood went cold at his implied meaning. "I of all people?" she said, trying to sound innocent and off-hand.

"Don't insult my intelligence. We both know perfectly well who you are, Avatar."

Senna sighed. "Well, there's no avoiding it now. How did you know?"

"Your tattoo of the Avatar Cycle on your back, first of all. That, coupled with the fact that you fit the Avatar's exact description, didn't make it too hard."

"I see. Why did you not expect to find me out here?"

"I didn't expect to find you out here because you supposedly died at the Southern Air Temple two weeks ago."

A murky memory of a battle flashed across Senna's mind, and the man seemed to notice. "I see you know what I speak of."

"I know the event. I didn't know I was supposed to be dead. Last time I checked, I'm the final authority on my status of life."

"That doesn't explain why the rest of the world thinks that you're dead."

Senna sighed. "I honestly don't really have an answer for you. The last thing I remember is standing outside of the Southern Air Temple…then waking up here. Everything in between is a blank."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Care to tell me what exactly you were up to at the Southern Air Temple?"

She regarded him suspiciously, but seemed to decide that it wouldn't hurt to tell him. "It's a long story," she warned him.

He laughed hollowly. "I've got plenty of time."

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><p><em>Seven months before<em>

Senna's brow furrowed in concentration as she practically glared at the water shakily floating in front of her. She raised her left hand high above her head, then brought it down in a quick, slicing motion. The water made a half-hearted twitch in the direction of her strike, then fell to the ground and rejoined the snow there.

"Argh!" Senna screamed in frustration, shooting a fireball at the snow at her feet in her anger. It simply melted into more water, as if to mock her.

She wheeled around and stormed back into the heart of the ice city of the North Pole. In the six months that she'd been training with the Northern Water Tribe, she still struggled with simple techniques that her friends had mastered in a matter of days. _Stupid prodigies_, she thought darkly.

People quickly moved out of her way as she passed, sensing her foul mood. In both the Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribe, Senna had a record of a remarkable temper, and the people of the North Pole knew to keep well out of her way when she was in a bad mood. It had been hoped that maybe her temper could have been, well, tempered somewhat during her time at the Western and Southern Air Temples, and though it had indeed subsided in her thirteen months of training there, it had simply resurfaced when she had started her water-bending training, and it had come back with a vengeance.

Using a spiteful bit of airbending, she whipped aside the curtain that served as the door to her little igloo. Kini let out a squawk at the disturbance. With a huff, she sat down in the middle of the igloo, folding her legs and placing her hands, palms up, on her knees. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let the breath out. Probably one of the most beneficial things she'd learned at the Air Temples was meditation; it was one of the few things that could calm her down when her temper flared up.

She'd been sitting, practicing her breathing, for no more than three minutes when she heard footsteps approaching her igloo. With a sigh, she brought herself out of her meditation and back to reality.

"Pardon, ma'am, but you've got a visitor," a young girl– a waterbending trainee, Senna remembered– said, obviously uncomfortable at interrupting the older girl.

"Thank you," Senna replied a little shortly, and she heard the girl scamper away. She sighed again, but this time in frustration at herself. Her people skills _definitely_ needed some work.

She got to her feet and exited her igloo the way she'd come less than five minutes before. She looked around for her visitor, and was surprised to see a red, gold, and black-clad figure standing near the entrance to the igloo, entertaining some small children with a clever display of firebending.

Her still-slightly surly expression broke into a wide grin as she recognized the visitor. "Soro!" she exclaimed happily.

He turned his head and, upon seeing her, smiled as well. Tall with longish black hair and gold eyes– incidentally, the same features of Senna's family– Soro had been Senna's best friend almost as long as they could remember. They'd learned firebending together, and so far, they remained fairly evenly matched, which– considering Senna was, after all, the Avatar– spoke volumes for Soro's skill.

He finished his display and detached himself from the group of children, good-naturedly deflecting their protests and pleas for "just one more." He came over and Senna pulled him into a tight hug. Having not seen each other in almost two years, the two friends broke apart and studied each other, noting what had and hadn't changed.

Senna grinned. "It's good to see you, Soro," she said honestly. "But what are you doing here in the North Pole? I thought you hated the snow."

"Well, for a firebender, that's just second nature," he laughed, then sobered. "Actually, I didn't want to have to come, at least not for this purpose."

She frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked, beginning to worry.

He gently led her back into the igloo. "I'm sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, Senna," he apologized. "But we figured you'd take it best from me."

The steel ship cut through the waves of the sea like a knife through soft butter. Senna stood at the railing, staring out at the water. The expression on her face was a mixture of sorrow and regret.

Soro came up to stand beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

She took a deep breath. "I will be," she said somewhat evasively. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She sighed. "I just wish that I could have gotten more time with her," she said, "to get to know her better. I lived with the woman for sixteen years, and yet I barely knew my mother at all. I left for my training almost two years ago without seeing her once in that time, and before I found out that I was the Avatar, she was always too busy. But now we'll never have a chance to fix things."

"I know she loved you, Senna," Soro assured her. "Your mother was many things, but she was never heartless, and I know that she loved you and Anzu and Kuzon very much."

Senna gave a bitter, half-hearted smile. "I never thought I'd miss her this much," she admitted, her voice rough with emotion. Soro slipped his hand from one shoulder to the other, so that his arm was around her shoulders as he pulled her into a comforting hug.

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><p><strong>Mm. Well, hope you don't mind, but Soro is basically Zuko. With a little of Ashitaka from <em>Princess Mononoke<em> thrown in.**

**I'm hoping to not make this story identical to the series. We'll see how well I succeed. The nice thing is that I will not have to worry about OOC-ness, with maybe one exception. (FORESHADOWING! ;D ) And feel free to correct me if I get some details wrong. I'm doing my research as much as possible.**

**So. Here's where I shamelessly beg for reviews. Hope y'all don't mind! But I'd really love to hear from you guys, even if it's just a line. Thanks!**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	2. Part One, Chapter Two

**Not much to say, really, except that I'm annoyingly stuck on Chapter Six of this story. :(**

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><p><em>Chapter Two<em>

Senna shifted her weight from her left foot to her right, clearly uncomfortable in formal clothes the like of which she hadn't worn since leaving the Fire Nation two years before. They were clothes befitting a princess, but during her time at the Western and Southern Air Temples and the Northern Water Tribe, she'd gotten used to simpler garments. Besides, she'd never liked formal dress much anyways. Kini, sitting on her shoulder, gave a squawk of what sounded like reassurance.

Soro came out from below deck, dressed much the same way. The son of one of the Fire Lord's most respected generals, Soro had considerable status of his own, although he seemed to gravitate more towards his mother's low-born heritage. Nonetheless, on this kind of an occasion, he, just like Senna, had to suck it up and dress to please.

Senna snuck a look at her best friend. All throughout the voyage home from the Northern Water Tribe, she'd been studying her friend and seeing how he'd changed. Their birthdays were within two weeks of each other, which meant that Soro would have turned eighteen six weeks ago. She was sorry that she'd missed it, and that he'd missed hers. She wasn't sure why, but even though it was only a two-year age difference, eighteen seemed a lot different on Soro than sixteen had. He'd grown a fair amount– not that he'd ever needed to, being one of the tallest of their friends– and had filled out some. Not just physically, either. He seemed to bear himself differently, as if he understood that he was an adult now and had responsibilities. That was a concept she'd particularly struggled with grasping, both then and now. But Soro had always been the responsible one. _My friend grew up when I wasn't looking_, she thought ruefully.

He caught her studying him, as he often had throughout the trip, and grinned, elbowing her arm playfully. "I'm not that different, Senna," he told her, reading her mind as always. "Really."

_Yes, you are_, she thought, but smiled along with him. "Sure," she replied, a wicked tone in her voice. "You're just as annoying as you've always been."

The ship docked just then, and suddenly the deck came alive, preventing him from coming up with a snappy comeback. He stuck out his tongue at her, and she returned the childish gesture, and for a moment, it was like they were ten years old again, playing like they used to.

One of her mother's ministers– now her brother's, she reminded herself– came up the walkway. Senna and Soro sighed quietly in unison, but they strode forward to greet him halfway.

"Welcome back home, Princess," the minister said, bowing. "It is our pleasure to have your presence grace the capital once more."

"Thank you, Minister," Senna said, sticking to just the title as she'd forgotten his name. "It's good to be home."

The weird thing, she mused as she and Soro followed the minister to a set of palanquins waiting for them, was that for some reason Xing, the bustling, prosperous capital of the Fire Nation, no longer felt like home as it once did. Hearing the sounds of the city made her long for the peace and tranquility of the Air Temples, and all throughout the voyage she'd missed her igloo in the Northern Water Tribe, despite her natural aversion to cold. _I've changed too_, she realized, with a mixture of shock and regret. She wondered if anything would feel like normal anymore.

The palanquin bearers brought them to the broad courtyard in front of the palace, where coronations had been traditionally held for hundreds of years. Gazing around, Senna was suddenly glad that she no longer had any claim to the throne. Standing up in front of all of those people– the courtyard could hold more than a thousand people– seemed like one of the scariest things she might ever do.

A figure appeared at the top of the forty-step flight of stairs Senna was about to go up. She had only a second to recognize the person as her older sister before the woman practically flew down the stairs to sweep her younger sister up in a tight hug.

"I missed you so much!" Princess Anzu said, fairly squeezing all of the breath from Senna's lungs. Senna patted her sister's back gently. "I'm happy to see you too, Anzu, but I can't breathe," she gasped.

Anzu released her sister, to Senna's relief. Anzu held her at arm's length, looking her over; Senna took her sister in as well. Nearing twenty-two, Anzu, though she had always been lovely, was coming into her true beauty. Anzu had always been, in some ways, more "perfect" than Senna: where Senna was brash and tempermental, Anzu was calm and poised, with a grace that Senna could never hope to match. Not that she ever really minded; Senna liked herself just the way she was. But it was a reminder of why her siblings were far more suited to rule than she had been. With a wave of relief, Senna pulled her sister into a much gentler hug, one that spoke volumes as to how much the sisters had missed each other.

"You're looking more beautiful than ever," Senna said, with only the slightest hint of jealousy– frankly, it was hard not to be jealous of Anzu– that Anzu was graceful enough to ignore, slight as it was.

"As are you," Anzu replied, brushing a stray hair from her sister's face. "I think all that northern air has done wonders for your skin."

"Yes, I'm now paler than every single person in the Fire Nation, including the ones that never see the light of day," Senna said sarcastically, her usual wit finally showing through.

Anzu smiled. "Come on then," she said, beckoning to Soro. "It's wonderful to have you back. And welcome home, both of you."

Senna smiled faintly, wistfully. "Yes. It's good to be back."

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><p>"So when do I get to see his lordship?" Senna asked, wiggling her newly bare toes. Now settled into her old apartments, Senna had gotten rid of the formal robes as fast as humanly possible, changing into her far more comfortable tunic and leggings. Anzu, looking lovely as always in an elegantly simple gown, was seated on the edge of the bed that Senna was sprawled out on.<p>

Anzu sighed. "You'll have to forgive him. He's been so busy ever since…ever since Mother died. Not that the country was exactly in bad shape, but he's trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. But he's said that he's going to see you tomorrow, hell or high water."

Senna nodded, shaking her hair loose from the twist it had been pulled up in. "Good," she declared. "I've missed having someone to sharpen my tongue on. Everyone in the Northern Water Tribe is too _nice_ to me. None of them give me reason to come up with a good comeback. It's boring, intellectually at least."

Anzu smirked. "And how is your waterbending training going?"

Senna scowled. "How do you think? I've spent all this time only to have shaky control of moves my friends mastered months ago. It's frustrating. Airbending was never this hard, and firebending definitely wasn't."

"Senna, you always forget that you're a prodigy when it comes to firebending. _Nothing_ will come as easily as that did."

Senna sighed. "I know. It still doesn't make it any easier when the water splashes on my face instead of twirling around my head."

Anzu laughed. "I'd pay money to see _that_," she giggled in spite of Senna's withering glare.

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><p>The early hours of the morning were quiet in the palace for a change. Senna, slipping on a robe over her loose shirt and baggy leggings, walked about in bare feet, reorienting herself to the palace's bearings. To her surprise– and relief– her knowledge of what was where came back almost instantly. After sixteen years of exploring and wandering about, often in the company of Soro, Senna had a floor plan of the royal palace practically ingrained in her mind.<p>

She turned a corner to head to a balcony that she remembered had a fantastic view of the city, but when she got there, she found someone already there. She began to back out of the arched hall, but the figure turned around before she left.

With a jolt, Senna recognized her older brother, Kuzon. She began to run over, but remembered that he was no longer just her brother– he was now Fire Lord, and her ruler. Doing something she never really imagined herself doing, she dropped to one knee. "My lord," she said, an odd, unfamiliar note of reverence in her voice.

Kuzon strode the rest of the way over and stopped in front of her, looking her over. He pulled her to her feet and into an enveloping hug. "There's no need for that, Senna," he told her in his warm, rumbling voice.

She drew her arms tight around him, burying her face into his chest. She hadn't realized how much she had missed her brother until now. He had always been a comforting presence to her, someone she could run and cry to when her mother wouldn't listen.

They pulled apart to look at each other. Kuzon, unlike Anzu, was not inherently handsome; he was a little ganglier and more awkwardly built. But there was a confidence and intelligence that exuded from him that, she supposed, could be quite attractive; being his sister, she'd never really thought about the subject. His golden eyes, a color characteristic of their family, were intense and focused, though mirth and wit sparkled in them as well.

"You're pale," he noted. Senna rolled her eyes. "Anzu noticed the same thing, except she was nicer about it," she pointed out.

Kuzon laughed. "What kind of older brother would I be if I didn't poke at least a little fun at you?" he teased. "I'm glad to see you, Senna. You look great."

Senna smiled. "You do too, _Fire Lord_."

He grimaced. "Don't remind me," he groaned. "I'm still trying to get used to it."

"I always thought you'd make a much better librarian," Senna pondered. "Or a historian. You spend half your time with your nose buried in books anyways. Not that you wouldn't make a good Fire Lord," she finished quickly, hastily reassuring her brother of her confidence in his abilities.

"I know what you mean," he answered, smiling again. "I always kind of hoped that Mother would make Anzu the heir instead. But there's nothing to be done now, I suppose. I'm Fire Lord, and I'll be damned if I'm a bad one."

Senna gave her brother a hug. "You'll be a great one," she assured him. "Now, how about we go find some breakfast?"

He grinned. "My thoughts exactly."

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><p>The day of the funeral dawned suitably gray-skied, as if even the weather was pausing to mourn. Senna dressed herself in somber blacks and silvers, hating every minute that passed. All it did was drive the needle of grief further into her heart.<p>

As she strode through the palace, she entered an impossibly long hall lined along the walls with tapestries. On them were portraits of royals stretching back for centuries, to the very first Fire Lord almost a thousand years before. For probably a good three hundred of those, no women could be seen among the portraits, which probably had to do with the fact that women in the Fire Nation had had almost no legal rights until the rule of Fire Lord Rizu, the first female ruler.

She slowed when she reached the portraits from about three hundred years ago. Although the world had been at peace since the end of the Great War, that smirch on the legacy of the Fire Nation's royal family was still as black and ugly as it had ever been, although it was more forgotten nowadays. Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai. All three her forefathers; all three perpetrators of a war that scarred the face of the world, physically and psychologically.

Her gaze continued down the line, past Zuko– whom she'd always admired– all the way to her mother, Suzuran. The only child of a Fire Lord known for his title as "the Peacemaker," Suzuran was the culmination of Fire Lord Zuko's quest to regain the honor of the Fire Nation. It was Suzuran who had finally lain to rest some issues still lingering on after three hundred years, and it was Suzuran who had taken long strides to improve the Fire Nation's still-shaky credit in the minds of the other three nations. Her shoes, admittedly small in real life, were going to be quite hard for Kuzon to fill.

"Senna?" she heard a voice say from the end of the hall. She turned her head and saw Anzu standing there, dressed similarly in mourning colors.

"It's time," Anzu told her. "We're waiting for you."

Senna reached out and brushed the painting of her mother, giving a final goodbye that she hoped could reach her mother in whatever afterlife she was in. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she walked over to her sister and followed her to the funeral hall.

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><p><strong>Oh, summer break. How I love you. Even though I had this bit written back in March or April. But I digress.<strong>

**Well, the response to this story has been...lackluster. No reviews so far. But _Midnight Rising_ is similarly stymied, so I'm thinking (read: hoping) that people just aren't reading fanfictions right now, and that it isn't just me. ^^;**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW.**

**Thanks, my lovelies.**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	3. Part One, Chapter Three

**EFFFFFFFFFFFF Just realized something. In Chapter Two I said that Soro was eighteen, but in reality he and Senna are supposed to be nineteen. I thought I'd fixed that. :(**

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><p><em>Chapter Three<em>

Senna shifted in her sleep. Her brows were furrowed, her face twisted in a mix of confusion, sorrow, and anger. She still wore the robes she'd worn to the funeral, having come back from it and gone straight to her room, not leaving and not admitting anyone, even Soro (who'd come calling four times), until she finally fell asleep just after having dinner.

_She was sitting in her igloo in the Northern Water Tribe, meditating as she often did. A sudden wind blew open the curtain door, but outside she heard only silence, as opposed to the normal daytime sounds of the tribe moving about its business. Curious, she stood up and pushed the curtain aside, stepping outside._

_At first glance, she could tell there was clearly something wrong. Outside the igloo was a land of burned and broken devastation, not the ice and snow of the North Pole. She whipped around to see behind her, and found to her surprise that her igloo was no longer there, only more dead and blackened land._

_She shivered, though it wasn't even really cold. Spindly trees, the life burned away from them, stood stark against the barren landscape. Some great cataclysm had hit this place, though she couldn't tell what._

_She heard a whisper behind her. She whirled around, but there was still nothing there. She heard it again, louder this time: "Danger…"_

_"From what?" she murmured. "Danger from what?"_

_"Senna…danger…" the voice said again. "You must…stop…danger…"_

_"What danger? Why do I have to stop it?" she cried. In a flash, she recognized the voice._

_"Mother!"_

Senna flew upright with a gasp. She looked blearily at her now messy and rumpled clothes, then fell back on her bed. She'd never had prophetic dreams before. What could this mean? She rubbed her face, still a little sleepy. There was only one way to find out what this meant, she decided. Changing out of her ceremonial clothes, she slipped on a simple tunic, leggings, and boots. She held out her arm, and Kini flew obediently over, hopping from Senna's forearm to her shoulder.

She strode quickly through the halls, purpose to her walk. She'd decided on visiting Master Airun, the palace's chief medic; he was the person most likely to have been attending to Suzuran before she died.

Luckily, Airun was still up, even at the late hour. He admitted her almost immediately.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" he asked, bowing. "Perhaps something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, waving away the servant who had magically appeared. "I came to ask you something."

"Well, go ahead," he said. "I admit, I am surprised to see you at such a late hour."

"I have a rather important matter I'd like to clear up sooner rather than later." She sat down. "Master Airun, you were the physician attending to my mother when she died, correct?"

A shadow crossed his face. "Unfortunately," he said sorrowfully. "I only wish I could have done more. The illness that struck your mother was unlike any I've ever seen."

"Did she say anything? I mean, before she died? Perhaps a message, or something…"

He sighed with what was almost relief. "I'm glad you've come to me about this," he told her. "Your mother was very ill in her last hours. There were a few minutes, though, when she seemed to be clear again. She was sleeping, and then suddenly she was awake, looking like she had a demon after her. She was terribly pale, even considering that she was sick. She grabbed my arm and told me something, something I was to repeat to no one but you."

Senna leaned forward. "What was it?"

"Well, it didn't make much sense to me," he told her. "She said something about danger to the whole world, then she told me to tell you. She said something about 'by summer's end,' and she kept repeating what I assumed was a warning about danger. Then she said to never mention this to anyone but you, and then she fell back asleep. Two hours later, she died." Airun looked at Senna, who had a pensive expression on her face as she stared aimlessly out the window at the night sky. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Princess. I do want you to know that Fire Lord Suzuran mentioned you another time. She told me that she always regretted not being closer to her children, but in particular you. She was very proud of you, and of how well you've shouldered this responsibility of being the Avatar. You and your siblings were never far from her thoughts in those last days, at least the thoughts she spoke aloud."

Senna would have cried, but she was out of tears now, even for her mother. Even though she desperately wanted to run back to her room and cry for the rest of the night, she kept herself composed as she rose. "Thank you, Master Airun, for telling me this…all of it."

"It was the least I could do, Princess. I only wish that my news was not so sad." He bowed, and she nodded farewell and swept out, her mouth tightening as she tried to keep herself from losing her composure.

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><p>Anzu hugged her sister tightly. "Promise you'll come back soon," she said, a few tears sliding down her face.<p>

"As soon as I can," Senna promised. "And the next time I come back, I'll be able to kick your butt with waterbending. You can bet on that."

Anzu laughed, a slightly watery sound that betrayed how reluctant she was to see her sister go after only two weeks. "I'm sure. Though you were always better than me at bending in any case."

Senna smiled, then turned to Kuzon. He swept her up in a huge bear hug. "Don't get too cocky," he warned her jokingly.

"Oh, don't worry," Senna assured him. "My waterbending training has kept me plenty humble. In fact, I'm so humble that I've now hit the point of humiliation. But no matter."

"That's my girl," he said, squeezing tight before letting her go and moving to give Soro a proper goodbye.

Senna and Soro made their way up the ramp to the deck of the ship. Soro had chosen to go with Senna, to keep her up-to-date on her firebending training as well. They'd spent a few days with their second firebending master (Senna's first being her mother), learning a couple of new advanced moves to practice. But more importantly, he was coming to keep Senna company. They had both missed each other terribly, and he wouldn't provide too much of a distraction to her training.

Senna waved to her brother and sister until they were out of sight. Soro elbowed her. "It's not like you'll never see them again," he reminded her.

"I know," she replied. "But I miss them already." She sighed. "That's the problem with homecomings. They make you realize just what you're missing out on."

"Well, at least you have your waterbending training to look forward to," he said, his voice full of false cheerfulness. She punched him in the arm.

* * *

><p>Senna and Soro were playing Pai Sho on the deck when the captain came over. "I'm sorry, but I need the two of you to come below deck," he told them. "We're approaching what looks to be like a fairly strong storm system."<p>

Senna looked up in surprise. She'd been so absorbed in the game that she hadn't looked at her surroundings in a while. Sure enough, on the horizon in front of them was a huge, roiling gray cloud. She blanched as she looked at it. "Isn't there a way around it?" she asked, her voice hollow and higher-pitched than normal.

The captain seemed surprised by her reaction. "I'm afraid not, Princess," he told her. "The storm stretches for miles. We'd be going too far out of our way, and we don't have enough fuel for such a long detour. But my men have handled storms worse than this."

"It's fine, Captain, thank you," Soro told him, packing up the game. He took hold of Senna's elbow and steered her below deck, Kini flying behind them.

* * *

><p>Senna sat curled up on her bed, a blanket wrapped around her. <em>Maybe if I believe hard enough, it'll go away<em>, she thought childishly, then shook her head at her silliness. A crash of lightning, albeit muffled, sounded from outside, and she jumped, drawing her legs into her chest and hugging them tightly. Kini hopped onto her head, nibbling her hair affectionately. The hawk let out a sound of what Senna interpreted as sympathy.

"I hate storms," she moaned. She twitched when the door to her room opened, but it was just Soro.

"You doing alright?" he asked her, concerned. She shook her head, and he came to sit on the bed with her, drawing her into a hug.

"The crew's very experienced in this kind of weather," he assured her. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"So was my father's crew, and look what happened to them," she shot back, her normal sarcasm turning harder in her fear. "I just can't wait for this storm to be over, and for us to be back on dry land." Another crash of lightning, then a rumble of thunder sounded, and she tensed, curling up tighter and squeezing her eyes shut. All pretense was dropped; her witty, sarcastic exterior fell away to reveal the vulnerable, scared girl underneath, something that Soro had seen rarely. He drew her closer to him, letting her rest her head against his chest.

* * *

><p>Soro shut the door to Senna's room quietly, only to find the captain waiting outside.<p>

"We're past the worst of the storm," he informed Soro. "I was just coming to tell the princess that."

"That'll be welcome news," Soro said, rubbing the back on his neck tiredly.

"Why does the princess dislike storms so badly?" the captain inquired. "They're common enough at sea, and these steel ships aren't as easy to destroy as, say, a fishing boat."

"But it does happen," Soro reminded the older man. "And you forget that exactly that happened to her father."

Realization crossed the captain's face. "Indeed, I did. The prince consort died so long ago that most do, I think."

"Yes, well, Senna was only seven when her father's ship was caught in that freak storm. She's been afraid of them ever since, and she's uncomfortable enough with being on the open sea as it is."

The captain nodded. "I remember Prince Lu Mao," he said. "He was one of the finest sea commanders I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. His death was truly a tragedy."

"I think part of why his death affected Senna so deeply was because of how her mother took it," Soro mused. "The Fire Lord was never quite the same after her husband died. And to be frankly honest, Prince Lu Mao was closer to Senna than her mother was." He stretched. "I'll tell her the worst is over. Thanks, Captain." He reopened the door and stepped inside.

The captain shook his head. It was sometimes hard to believe that Soro was only nineteen, he thought. The young man acted so much older than that sometimes.

* * *

><p>Senna practically ran off the ship as soon as it was docked, Kini following close behind. She'd never been a fan of traveling by sea (though it was one of the few long-distance transportation options available to her), and despite what she would say about hating the cold, she'd missed the North Pole, especially her igloo.<p>

Skidding to a slower pace, she stepped inside her igloo and collapsed on the bed, which was as messy as she'd left it. "It's good to be back," she sighed happily. Kini flew in after her and landed on her own perch, ruffling her feathers.

Soro, having walked at a much slower pace, entered. "I never got a good look at it when I was here last time," he said. "So this is where you live?"

"As long as I'm here," she answered. "They'll find you an igloo too, though I doubt it'll be as nice as mine. I _am_ the Avatar, after all."

"Ha, ha," he replied sarcastically. "You know, you're annoying when you're actually _trying_ to be witty."

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm not as funny as I think." The two of them tried to keep serious faces, but burst out in laughter that echoed out of the igloo.

* * *

><p><strong>Senna's fear of storms is actually a relatively important character trait. It will show up later.<strong>

**Well. So far it seems that I'm only posting this for my own benefit, which is...not fun. But what can you do. Internet readers are fickle. And y'all are missing out on what is assuredly my longest fic ever. I'm anticipating twenty chapters, possibly more, and that a _long_ fic for me, who is queen of the seven-to-ten chapter story.**

**In other news, I need to stop wasting my summer watching cartoons. BUT IT'S SO MUCH FUN. I'm super in love with _Young Justice_. :D**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	4. Part One, Chapter Four

**SOOOO. Here we go again!**

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><p><em>Chapter Four<em>

"Again!"

Senna sighed and reset her stance. She'd actually been looking forward to her waterbending training on the way back– only a tiny bit, mind you– until she remembered exactly how much trouble it gave her.

Her teacher appraised her from about fifteen feet away. A middle-aged woman with prematurely gray hair, Kida was one of the most skilled waterbenders in the Northern Water Tribe. She was also the only waterbender who had the patience to teach Senna, probably the most hot-headed student to come to the tribe.

She lifted a ball of water, then sent it flying towards Senna. The younger girl gritted her teeth, but managed to divert it to the side. She sent it flowing in a circle around her, then back at Kida, who diverted it away to the snow.

Kida shook her head. "Again," she said. "You're using firebending moves. Don't focus so much on power. Let it flow."

Senna sighed frustratedly. "I can't help it," she complained. "My airbending training slips into my waterbending all the time, too, you know."

"Yes, but airbending and waterbending are compatible. Both deal with change and flow. You, of all people, should know that firebending and waterbending are complete opposites."

Senna sighed again, more resigned this time. They went through the exercise again, and this time Senna concentrated more on trying to let the water flow, rather than pushing it.

"Good!" Kida called out, catching the water and sending it back towards Senna. They moved the water in figure eights around the two of them for a few minutes.

"Now use it for offense," Kida told her. She gathered more water and sent it all flying at Senna in a wave.

"Oh, crap," Senna had time to say before the wave was almost upon her. She sent it flying above her, but lost control right when it was over her head. It all came crashing down on her, soaking through her already-wet coat. She glared at Soro, who was trying hard not to laugh.

More laughing, not from Soro, rang out behind her. She whirled around to see some of Kida's other students laughing their heads off as they watched. Her eyes narrowed, and she sent heat coursing through her clothing, evaporating the water. The steam rising off of her had a very intimidating look about it. "I'm sorry, did you want something?" she asked with false courtesy, anger tingeing the edge of her voice.

"I'm sorry," the one who looked to be the leader of the posse said as the other two cackled, an ugly sound that made Senna's hackles rise. "It's just that you're supposed to be the Avatar and all, and you can't even master basic bending moves."

Soro saw Senna's eyes harden into an icy glare that had been known to send small children running away crying, and tried to silently warn the offender to back off.

"Arok!" Kida said sharply. "I cannot believe how disrespectful you're being! Apologize!"

"No, it's alright, Master," Senna said, her eyes never leaving Arok. "I've been _waiting_ for someone to lip off to me the whole time I've been here." She walked forward until she was standing mere inches away from the young man– who was actually two years younger than her– and despite her shorter-than-average height, her anger made her seem far bigger. "So, you think you're a better bender, do you?" she asked, a dangerous note in her voice.

"If you can't even master the basics after months of training, I think that much is clear," he said arrogantly.

She smiled grimly, her eyes flat and cold. "Then let's prove it," she challenged him. "You and me, fighting in our natural elements. Fire versus water."

Uncertainty crossed his face for a moment, as the enormity of challenging the Avatar to a contest of strength seemed to become clear to him only then. But it was only for a minute, and the overconfident grin was back in seconds. "Fine," he agreed.

Senna's smile grew, and she began pulling off her outer layers of clothing. Arok looked at her like she was crazy. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting ready," she replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Might as well get this over with now."

"You'll freeze!"

"Oh, trust me," she assured him, a wolfish smile on her face, "it'll be plenty warm."

Arok was beginning to look nervous, but moved to the other end of the training arena.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on doing it here," she told him. "Buildings made of ice are so easily melted."

He swallowed, but followed her to a more open space, where they both settled into a fighting stance.

"You first, _Avatar_," he said, a mocking tone still in his voice, despite the fact that his expression told her that he was no longer so sure he'd win the fight.

She grinned wickedly, then ran forward and jumped into a spinning kick, sending out a ring of fire at him. He raised a wall of snow to stop it, but no sooner had the steam cleared then she was shooting off fireball after fireball relentlessly. He had to quickly become more and more creative to fend off her blows.

People from the tribe were beginning to gather to watch, although they remained at a safe distance. Senna usually practiced her firebending and airbending in private, so few had ever seen her in action. Their expressions showed that they were clearly awed by her prowess.

Kida moved over to stand by Soro, her husband, Chief Nekoda, following beside her. Kida looked less surprised than the rest, more impressed. "I knew she was a good bender," she told Soro, "but she's struggled so much with waterbending that it was never particularly clear."

"She's a firebending prodigy," he informed her. "Fire Lord Suzuran herself taught her, alongside her siblings. I've never seen anyone come so easily to it. We also had some…special teachers."

Kida raised an eyebrow at this comment, but said nothing, instead watching the fight, which was growing more and more frenzied. Arok was barely holding his own against Senna, who rather seemed to be enjoying herself. She flowed through move after move, form after form, finally in her element once again. He melted a huge chunk of snow from a hillside and sent it rushing towards her; she shot a jet of fire from her hand and evaporated it all, as if it was simply child's play. His inadequacy becoming clearer and clearer to him, Arok was growing angry, moving faster and sloppier. A feral grin spread across Senna's face as she realized this. _Time to end this_, she thought, and, breathing in deep, she let out a roaring breath of fire that billowed into a wall of flame. She sent it raging into the snow between her and Arok, evaporating the snow and creating clouds of steam. Her visibility was abruptly taken away, but so was Arok's.

Arok whipped around, trapped in a fog. He blew it away from him, it being only vaporized water, but as the steam around him cleared away, he was greeted by the sight of Senna rushing at him, yelling a battle cry. Moving faster than he could follow, she sunk her elbow into his stomach, then knocked his chin up as he buckled over. He stumbled backwards, and she swept her leg around, kicking his legs out from underneath him. He fell back onto the snow with a thud, and Senna lunged forward, one hand stopping just short of chopping into his throat as the other sat chambered against her chest, ready to lash out with a blow of fire.

Both were breathing hard; Arok, flat on his back as the snow melted and seeped into his clothes, was exhausted. Shame was written all over his face, along with a newfound respect for Senna's abilities. The people of the tribe were shocked and awed. Senna's difficulties with waterbending were well-known; despite the fact that she was the Avatar, few had guessed that she was that skilled a bender.

Senna said nothing to Arok. Nothing needed to be said; to say anything, in fact, would be heading towards humiliation, and that was something she would not do. She wordlessly held out a hand and helped him to his feet. Soro came over, the first one brave enough to do so, and handed over her coat and jacket, which she took gratefully; now that the battle was over, she was getting cold again, especially as the chilly air blew across her sweaty, damp clothes and skin. People parted as she walked past, some giving her looks bordering on reverent. Before, she had always just been Senna to them, the girl who couldn't master waterbending; after that spectacle, though, she was, and always would be, the Avatar.

* * *

><p>Senna closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, mentally centering herself. She let it out and opened her eyes. She lifted her hands, concentrating on lifting the water in the bowl in front of her. It obediently rose into the air with nary a wobble, to her delight. She sent it circling around her, then had it stretch out in the air into a long whip. She lifted her hand above her head, then brought it down in a slicing motion, hoping that this might finally work.<p>

The water whipped in the direction of her hand, racing in a diagonal slash before circling back around her to hover by her hand, back near her shoulder. She grinned. Three and a half months ago, she'd barely been able to lift the water. Now, it did what she wanted it do.

Kida watched with approval as her student moved through several other forms. Senna lacked the natural ease of some of her other pupils, but the knowledge and, more importantly, the confidence were there.

"I think I've seen enough," she said, stopping Senna. "You've proven that you have the basics down, and that you've moved on to a few more difficult moves. You're not as smooth as some of my other students, but that will come with time. I've taught you all I can."

Senna looked at her teacher in surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked apprehensively.

"I mean that it's time you moved on. I was always planning on this happening. You'll finish your training in the Southern Water Tribe. It won't do you any harm to learn different styles of bending, and the waterbending instructor I'm thinking of is the perfect person to perfect your training."

"And that is…?"

"Minh. She's the best waterbender in the South Pole. She's also a distant cousin of yours, if I'm correct. You'll do well with her."

Senna brightened, then her expression clouded. "I suppose that means we'll have to get on the ship again," she muttered.

Kida laughed. "Unless you can fly to the Southern Water Tribe."

Senna sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, well. I suppose there's nothing I can do about it." She turned and bowed to Kida. "Thank you, Master, for all of your training, and especially for all of your patience. I can't have been the easiest student, and I am eternally grateful that you kept believing in me. I promise, I will make you proud."

Kida's eyes shone. "I'm sure you will." She walked over and placed her hands on Senna's shoulders. "In all the time that you've been here in the Northern Water Tribe, I feel like you've become like my own child. It won't take you long to master waterbending, and you'll take to earthbending with ease– you've got the right temperament. You'll become a great Avatar someday, Senna, I know you will."

Senna's heart swelled with the emotionalism of the conversation. "Thank you, Master." She grabbed Kida into an impromptu hug, which Kida gladly returned.

* * *

><p>Senna kept waving until the people of the Northern Water Tribe who had gathered to see her off faded out of sight. She sighed.<p>

"Don't tell me you already miss it," Soro jokingly complained. "Besides, it's not like the South Pole is any warmer. You can stay in all the igloos you like there too, I suspect."

"They don't live in igloos in the South Pole," Senna mused absentmindedly. She shook herself out of whatever reverie she'd been in. "And you'd miss them if you'd lived with them for almost two years, too."

"Well, I've got the perfect way for you to drown your sorrows," Soro told her. Catching on to his meaning, she groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, no time like the present to practice," he reminded her. "We wouldn't want you getting rusty, now would we? So which shall we do first, water, air, or fire?"

In answer, Senna lifted a small wave out of the water and sent it crashing down on Soro, soaking him thoroughly as she laughed. Seeing him attempt to wring out his clothes only made her laugh harder.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope I'm not doing too badly with the characterizations. I'm trying to make it seem like Senna isn't learning the elements super fast, though when I think about it, she kind of is. (But then again, Aang became a fully-realized Avatar in less than a year, so go figure.)<strong>** I had to find something to trip her up so that she wasn't all Mary Sue-ish and a god character who can do anything, and since she's naturally a firebender, waterbending seemed like the perfect solution. But please tell me if you think I'm going about this story in the wrong way. Not that anyone actually reads this story, which brings up why I'm even writing these author's notes. I'm basically talking to myself. (Uh oh.) But I really want to post this story anyways, and I've decided that I won't be one of those writers who depends on reviews to write. I write for my own pleasure, and if other people like my work, that's great too. I think that's the best way to go about it. It kind of annoys me when writers threaten to halt or discontinue a story if they don't get X number of reviews, because then what happens to the rest of us who do read the story? It shouldn't matter how many people read your stories. If you want to write them, then write; if you don't, then don't. It's simple. But I digress.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW (Oh, look at me. I'm such a hypocrite. Here I am talking about how it doesn't matter if people read your story, then I go begging for reviews. ^^; )**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	5. Part One, Chapter Five

**Nuttin' to say. In case you were wondering, I'm giving the disclaimer at the very end of the story, since I usually forget until then.**

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><p><em>Chapter Five<em>

_She was back at the Southern Air Temple, where she'd finished her airbending training. At first it had been awkward, being the only girl, but she'd soon gotten over it. The Southern Air Temple was one of her favorite places she'd been to so far, but as she looked around, she had a feeling that she wasn't looking at it as it was today. Although the Southern and Eastern Air Temples had been the best preserved of the four following the Great War, both had still taken damage, and had needed renovations. There was no sign of renovations here._

_"You're seeing the temple as it looked four hundred years ago, when I was a boy here," a voice said behind her. She whirled around to find a man standing behind her. He was obviously an airbender, being dressed like one of their monks and bearing the arrow tattoos. He seemed to be somewhere around middle-age, though he still seemed fairly young and full of energy. But even though she was positive she'd never seen him before, he felt…familiar, somehow._

_"You're Avatar Aang," she realized. He nodded._

_"What am I doing here?" she asked._

_"You're here to learn," he told her cryptically. "You think that learning to bend all four elements is all there is to being the Avatar? You have an enormous amount of power, Senna. But you have to learn how to control it. I'm going to teach you."_

_Senna was about to speak further, but suddenly felt water droplets against her face. Was it raining?_

* * *

><p>Senna's eyes flew open as she groaned. Her vision came into focus to reveal Soro grinning wickedly as he stood above her, having just wrung a wet towel onto her face.<p>

"I hate you," she moaned, pulling her pillow over her face. He laughed. "Complain later, princess," he told her. "You've got training to do."

"Too much training," she mumbled into her pillow. "I can't even escape it when I'm asleep."

* * *

><p>On the outside, Senna decided, the South Pole was not that much different from the North Pole. They had the same twisting mazes of icebergs…and the same cold. She shivered. Ever since they'd left the coast of the Earth Kingdom, the temperature had only proceeded to drop, their only respite being when they had gone past the Southern Air Temple.<p>

She was broken out of her reverie by the faint sound of small boats moving through water. She ran to the railing of the ship and managed to spot what looked like several canoes in the distance. She smiled with relief. They'd finally reached the Southern Water Tribe!

When they came within shouting distance, one of the people manning the lead canoe called out a greeting.

"Hello!" he called– she could tell the voice was male. "State your business in the waters of the Southern Water Tribe!"

"I am Avatar Senna!" she called. "I've come to train under the waterbending master Minh!"

The warriors on the boats shouted out welcomes. Soro came over as Senna relaxed with visible relief.

"I can finally get off this damn boat," she said gratefully. "Three weeks is way too long."

"I'm crushed that you're not anxious to spend more time with me," he said, mock-offended.

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Soro, after three weeks together on a cramped boat with no one but the crew as a bumper, even _you_ get annoying." She left the railing and headed to go below deck to pack up the rest of her things.

"Ha. See if I ever give you any of my sweet potatoes at dinner again," he threatened, though she'd already gone out of earshot.

* * *

><p>Slinging her pack onto her shoulder, Senna walked down the ramp, happy to be on solid ground once again. A small group of people was waiting at the bottom to welcome her.<p>

A woman perhaps ten or fifteen years older than her stepped forward. "I am Minh," she said, bowing. "I will be your teacher, as agreed upon with your previous instructor. Welcome to the South Pole, Avatar Senna."

Senna bowed. "Thank you. I'm anxious to continue my training. If we could find a place to put our belongings, though, that would be wonderful. It's been a very long trip."

"Of course," Minh said smoothly as Soro laughed. "Follow me."

The tent that had been set up for Senna reminded her somewhat of her igloo in the north. She fell onto the stout bed with a contented sigh. Soro peeked his head in.

"I see you've settled in," he commented. "My tent's about the same. Not quite as big, though."

"I'm more special than you are," Senna said matter-of-factly, although a wry smile was on her face. "Simple as that."

"Funny. Truly inspired, that." He ducked as Senna lobbed her bag at him.

* * *

><p><em>She was in what she gathered must be the Earth Kingdom, though she hadn't yet been there herself. It still seemed somewhat familiar to her, though; she assumed she must have come here in a past life, which, considering just how many past lives she'd had, was more than likely.<em>

_She stood atop a pillar of rock, among other jagged-edged pillars. The landscape around her bore signs of massive fire damage, but years ago, perhaps a few hundred. It looked to be nighttime, just after sunset– the sky was that midnight blue color that she loved._

_Suddenly, the sky began to turn orange and red. At first she thought it was some kind of strange, backwards sunset, but as she turned to the west, she saw a great, fiery shape rushing towards her, heading from west to east. She squinted, then realized with a jolt that she was looking at a comet. And there was no mistaking this comet in particular. Sozin's Comet only came once a century, but when it did, it was something to behold. For its last two comings, it had prompted huge festivals and celebrations in the Fire Nation, with spectacular displays of firebending enhanced by the comet's close proximity. But before then, it had been used not once, but twice by her ancestors for far more sinister purposes._

_"Danger…" The echo from her dream two months before, in the Fire Nation, sounded around her; this time, she recognized her mother's voice right away. She couldn't understand, however, why her mother would be sending her these warnings from across the void._

_"What danger?" she asked urgently. "Is it the comet?"_

_"You must stop…"_

_"Stop what?" Realization hit her. Maybe it wasn't so much a _what_ as it was a _who_. "Stop who? Who's going to cause danger? Mother!"_

* * *

><p>Senna's eyes flew open. The tent that had been prepared for her was actually about the same size of her igloo, but somehow it felt so much smaller.<p>

She rolled over, feeling hot and bothered. These dreams she kept having were getting strange, and more importantly, rather ominous. If only they weren't cryptic as well.

She sighed and sat up, swinging her legs over to dangle off the edge of her stout bed. There was nothing to do about it but keep going with her training; she had a feeling that sooner or later the answers would show up somehow.

The morning had dawned bright. Senna, who had lived almost a year on either end of the world, was used to the freezing cold mornings with the sun reflecting off of the ice and snow; Soro was quite pointedly not. Despite the fact that he was much more of a morning person than she, he was far grumpier come the dawn.

"Oh, lighten up, sourpuss," Senna teased as he slid on another coat, probably more layers than was necessary. "You were up at the North Pole for a month. Surely you're used to it by now."

"Senna, we live in a volcanic nation," he reminded her. "I will _never_ get used to the cold."

Once they finished their breakfast, they wandered into what seemed to be the main village square of the tribe. There they found Minh, talking with a girl about a year younger than Senna. Spotting them, the waterbending master motioned them over.

"Avatar Senna, Master Soro, good morning," she greeted them. Senna resisted the urge to make a face at the use of the formal titles. "Just Senna, please," she requested. "All of my teachers have just used my first name."

"I'll say the same," Soro added. "'Master Soro' makes me sound like my father." Considering that Soro hadn't been on good terms with his father for the past six years, this was particularly insulting for him.

"Senna and Soro it will be, then. I'd like you to meet Aisha," she said, presenting the other girl. "She is my niece, and will be working alongside you, Senna."

Aisha bowed. "It's an honor to meet you," she said. She looked very much like a younger version of her aunt. She seemed nice, and Senna had a feeling that she'd like the girl. Senna bowed in return. "Thank you," she replied. "I hope you're patient," she added. "I'm not very good at waterbending. I've only just mastered some of the basics."

"I'm familiar with Kida, your former teacher," Minh told her. "If she believed that you were ready to move on, I would be the last person to doubt her opinion. I'm sure you'll do fine, Senna."

_Yes_, Senna thought, _I'm definitely going to like these two._

* * *

><p><em>She was back at the Southern Air Temple. Aang sat in front of her, his lack of a shirt showing the arrow tattoos that adorned his arms and back.<em>

_"Time for your first lesson," he told her. "In the absence of a teacher in the real world, I'll have to instruct you in this in your dreams. You'll remember everything, though."_

_"What are you teaching me?" she asked curiously._

_"Every Avatar possesses an ability called the Avatar State. In its rawest form, it's a defense mechanism, designed to help keep the Avatar alive. Unfortunately, when you can't control it, it can be incredibly destructive. It's a weapon and a tool as much as your bending is, and similarly, if you can learn to master it, it has unlimited potential. I'm going to be teaching you how to master it."_

_Senna was intrigued. "Alright," she said. "So what do I have to do?"_

_"Well, since you're dreaming, we can skip the onion-banana soup that I had to drink." He shuddered. "It's a particularly foul concoction I hope you never have to encounter. Your first task is to clear your mind."_

_Senna took in a deep breath, settling into meditation. At least this training was less strenuous than the ass-kickings Soro gave her every morning, she mused._

* * *

><p><strong>Though it's probably more likely that the Avatar before Senna would have taught her about all of the "blah blah blah spiritual mumbo-jumbo blah blah blah something about space," that would have required me to come up with yet another original character, and it was more fun to put in Aang because then I have clever references to the original series.<strong>

**Also, if you're wondering how Minh and Senna are distantly related, both Minh and Senna's father, Lu Mao, are descendants of Aang and Katara. Aisha and her twin brother, Sakio (who shows up in the next chapter), are Minh's niece and nephew. Their parents are dead, so Minh takes care of them.**

**B-t-dubs, sweet potatoes are Senna's favorite food, and Soro doesn't really like them, so he always gives her his share. They sounded like a food that could exist in the Avatar world. And that's the last of the behind-the-scenes information that you probably don't care about, I promise.**

**Oh, and FYI, in case I didn't mention it last chapter, any information from _Legend of Korra_ won't show up in this story because I started writing it before I found out about the series, and once information about the series started being actually released, I was already several chapters in, so I didn't want to bother with rewriting anything. That's not to say I'm not excited for _Legend of Korra_, because I am. IMMENSELY.**

**Review, please.**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	6. Part One, Chapter Six

**Still not much to say. Except that I've noticed in the past five chapters, most of my Senna/Soro scenes end with one or both of them laughing. Guess that's friendship!**

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><p><em>Chapter Six<em>

Minh watched as Senna and Aisha moved through waterbending forms together. As Senna had predicted, the girls had become quick friends, and it was due as much to Aisha's help as Minh's training that Senna had progressed through her training so quickly, at least in comparison to her time at the Northern Water Tribe.

Soro sat watching as well, sitting on the sidelines with a boy the same age as Aisha. While not a bender himself, Aisha's twin brother Sakio was nonetheless a capable warrior, ingenious and clever if a little goofy sometimes. He and Soro had taken to practicing with weapons while Senna trained with Aisha in waterbending.

As Senna and Aisha completed a particularly complex sequence, Minh stopped them. "Good," she said. "Now waterbend freestyle. I want to see what you can come up with on your own."

Senna looked a little wary. "The last time I tried to waterbend on the fly, I ended up getting soaking wet," she warned. "Aisha, you can't say I didn't warn you."

Aisha laughed. "And you can't say I didn't do the same. If we look like fools, at least we'll look like fools together."

Minh's mouth twitched into a small smile. "Senna. You start."

Senna had just lifted a ball of water when she saw smoke on the horizon. Peering at it, her concentration broke and the water splashed to the ground.

"Senna–" Minh began, but Senna held up a hand and cut her off. "Do you see that?" she asked, pointing.

The other four in the small clearing looked at what she was pointing at. "Looks like smoke from a ship," Soro offered. "A big ship that runs on coal, like the Fire Nation uses."

More columns of smoke joined the first. "If it's a ship, it's a lot of them," Senna said. "What in heaven's name are they doing here?"

"I don't know, but I want to find out," Minh said. "Come on."

When the five reached the front of the village, almost every other adult and a fair amount of children in the tribe had gathered there as well. Senna could see at least four Fire Nation ships steaming towards the glacier on which the Southern Water Tribe lived.

"What in the blazes are these ships doing here?" asked Nichika, the chief of the tribe. She was a tough, muscular woman who brooked no argument and arbitrated tribal matters with wisdom and fairness. In many ways, she reminded Senna of a cross between her mother and Kida.

"Seems to be everyone's question," Soro replied. Senna watched the approaching ships with eyes narrowed in suspicion. There were too many for this to be a simple courier mission, and the ships looked armored, like a battleship would be. But why on earth would Kuzon send battleships to the Southern Water Tribe? They didn't need them. The Southern Water Tribe hadn't waged war on any other nation in almost seven hundred years, and the world had been for the most part at peace for the latter three hundred.

Something was launched from the foremost ship, and Senna realized what it was as it passed in front of the sun. "Hit the dirt!" she yelled, ducking.

The ice in front of the village exploded as a fireball the size of a boulder touched ground. Women and children screamed, and everyone ran back as far as they could. Any and all waterbenders, including Minh and Aisha, and warriors ran the opposite direction to protect the village.

"What do they think they're doing?" Senna demanded as she waved away the clearing smoke that had drifted in her face. She glanced around, but remembered in a second that she'd left her airbending glider in her tent. Cursing, she ran to the water's edge, gathering a wave and jumping atop it, using it to propel her forward as she hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't just splash down into the sea.

Luckily, her control held, and she deposited herself onto what she gathered was the flagship of the little fleet. Soldiers, seeing her entrance, ran towards her, shouting out commands and answers as they formed a ring around her.

"What in the name of heaven and earth do you think you're doing?" she thundered. "I am Avatar Senna and princess of the Fire Nation, and I demand to speak to the captain of this ship at once!"

In answer, the soldiers sent a synchronized attack at her, each shooting out a fireball in unison– probably assuming that she wouldn't be able to block them all. Obviously they'd never fought a bender on her level before. She spun around, sending out a ring of fire that negated the fireballs and continued on, knocking the soldiers to the deck. She ran to the bow of the ship, conjuring back up a wave and leaping off of the deck to land on it, racing back to shore.

Soro met her where she landed, having gathered her staff and his sword. While Senna had attempted talking with the flagship, other ships had landed and off-loaded their soldiers, who had now engaged the Water Tribe fighters in battle.

"Did you get anything?" he asked.

"Only that they don't seem to mind attacking their princess," she said, scowling, taking her staff from him. "Right now, let's focus on protecting the village."

"Right." He looked around for someone to fight.

"Where did Minh and Aisha go?" Senna asked.

"Don't know. Probably wherever Sakio went."

"I want to find them. Let's go."

They weaved their way through the numerous battles taking place, searching for Senna's teacher and friends, each bashing in a few heads along the way. They were almost outside of the village before they found Minh, Aisha, and Sakio surrounded by close to fifteen Fire Nation soldiers. Sakio was fighting two at once, while Minh and Aisha were waterbending as a team. Senna and Soro ran over, taking a few soldiers by surprise as Senna bowled them over with a sudden wall of snow and Soro finished them off with a good knock to the head of each.

"They took us by surprise," Minh gasped, breathing hard. "We tried to draw as many away from the village as possible, but then more just kept coming."

"I tried talking to the captain of the flagship," Senna reported shortly.

"And?"

"I got attacked for my trouble. The Fire Nation doesn't seem to care for the truce between the nations if its soldiers will strike at the Avatar– their own princess."

"What will you do?"

"I'm going to be paying my brother a friendly little visit after this," Senna said grimly, her tone saying that the visit was not going to be in any way friendly. "Let's just deal with the matter at hand first."

"Good idea," Minh agreed, turning back to the battle.

It seemed like the fight lasted for hours. Every time Senna took down a soldier, there were three more to take his or her place. Minh was right– they just kept coming. She was sure that the warriors and waterbenders in the village were doing just as badly.

As four soldiers rushed at her, she furrowed her brows in concentration. She lifted up her hands, and with them came the snow surrounding her, launching the soldiers into the air. She heard a cry behind her, and turned around to investigate. To her horror, she saw Soro stumble back and fall to the snow, red blossoming on the front of his shirt, as a soldier moved in for the killing strike.

"No!" she screamed, fury and fear rising in her in equal parts. The world around her seemed to slow down and fade away as energy built up inside of her, until she felt like she was going to burst. Suddenly it felt like she wasn't in control of her actions anymore, like she was watching herself from afar. She vaguely registered sending out a massive fireball at the offending soldier, which hit him square in the chest and burnt him up where he stood, before she lost awareness of her surroundings.

* * *

><p>Aisha heard Soro's cry at the same time Senna did, and turned to see him as well. She couldn't see him past the soldiers she was fighting, though she did see Senna incinerate a soldier. She would have been shocked at her friend's actions had they not been in the heat of battle, and in any case, she got a feeling that Senna wasn't entirely herself anymore. A weird glow emitted from her, almost, and her eyes were glowing blue.<p>

Aisha watched as Senna melted a huge patch of snow and sent it flying at a cluster of soldiers with only a flick of her hand. As soon as the water hit the soldiers, it froze, trapping them in ice. The girl then turned to the side of the glacier closest to the village, a good half-mile from where they were fighting. She raised her hands, and a rumbling began, low and quiet, but quickly growing louder. The glacier itself began to shake, and snow started to tumble down.

Aisha wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't been seeing it with her own eyes. _This must be the Avatar State_, she thought with awe. Senna had mentioned it once, but in passing, and in a complaint. Now she could see for herself the raw power of the Avatar.

As the tumbling snow grew into an avalanche, the strange glow that Aisha had seen surrounding Senna faded away, and the young woman stumbled a little. She shook her head, then seemed to see the avalanche for the first time.

"Take cover!" she yelled to Aisha, Sakio, and Minh. Aisha ran over to her brother as their aunt finished fighting off a few soldiers.

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><p>Senna ran hard. The last few minute were like a blank in her mind. The last thing she remembered doing was watching Soro fall, and then nothing until she'd suddenly come to and seen an avalanche raging towards them.<p>

_I must have gone into the Avatar State_, she decided. _But I still don't know how to control it yet. That avalanche…it must have been me who started it._

She knew, from the vague memories she had from the lives of past Avatars, the power of the Avatar State, but she'd never experienced it until now. Aang had said that the presence of danger or strong emotions could trigger it. She'd hoped she could have avoided this kind of a situation before now.

She could hear the avalanche behind her. It was almost on top of them. She reached Soro and instinctively bended the snow around them into a dome-like shield above them, freezing it several feet thick. Then the sun was blotted out from the sky as the avalanche raged over the top of them.

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><p><strong>CLIFFHANGERS. DON'T YOU LOVE THEM? XD<strong>

**Well, look at that, this story finally got serious. Enough screwing around with all of that BFF fluffy nonsense. Though I do like BFF fluffy nonsense.**

**STILL EXCITED FOR _LEGEND OF KORRA_.**

**Oh, and I assume that when an Avatar goes into the Avatar State (before they are able to control it) they aren't aware of their actions, or at least they're not in control of them. That was the gist I got from the original series.**

**And I apologize, but yes, Sakio and Aisha are my analog for Sokka and Katara. Originally Sakio's name was Kato, but in a few chapters a character named Kaoh will show up, and the names were too similar, so I changed Kato to Sakio. Don't hurt me for jacking characterizations. I'll try not to make them carbon copies. Senna gets most of the sarcasm in the story, so Sakio will be more like...well, Sokka in the _Last Airbender_ film, but, you know, with a personality.**

**Oh! One last thing. The last bit with Soro getting stabbed and all (and the follow-up in next chapter) was somewhat taken from _The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor_, a fairly unsatisfying sequel to two great movies. But I liked this scene.**

**Review, please.**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	7. Part One, Chapter Seven

**Urgh. All I can say is that this is what happens when you are in public education. DON'T DO SCHOOL, KIDS. IT EATS YOUR LIFE. Also, I've kind of been reading a bunch lately, so that distracted me from all of my fanficcing...I've also become addicted to Tumblr. TL;DR, I am a horrible person who needs to update her stories more often. I'm sorry.**

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><p><em>Chapter Seven<em>

The landscape was silent as the snow settled. The white tsunami that had raged over the snowy plains was gone, its only trace the fresh snow.

With a poof, a small mound of snow exploded. Coughing, Aisha and Sakio emerged, their hair and clothes dusted white. Minh appeared in a similar fashion from underneath another mound, though looking less unkempt.

Aisha and Sakio looked at each other in amazement, then laughed a little, breathless at their miraculous survival. Minh strode over, her normally purposeful gait hampered by the snow, and placed an arm around her niece and nephew's shoulders.

Suddenly there was a muffled yell from a snow mound about a hundred yards away. Aisha's blood ran cold as she remembered the other two who had fought the battle with them. She stumbled over to the source of the yell.

"Somebody help me!" she heard Senna cry out in a voice laced with despair. Aisha didn't bother to wonder why Senna didn't just get herself out; quickly, she cleared away the snow and cracked open the layer of ice underneath. By the time she was finished, Sakio and Minh had managed to get over to her.

Senna was on her knees in the hollow, her teeth chattered and her lips trembling as tears coursed down her cheeks. Soro was clutched in her arms, his body sprawled on the ground. His eyes were half-closed, his face tight with pain. The front of his coat and shirt were a tattered, stained mess that revealed an ugly, deep wound in his torso.

Aisha inhaled sharply, her face white. Sakio jumped down and helped Senna lift Soro out. As soon as they were above ground, Senna fell to her knees next to him. She looked up at Minh and Aisha beseechingly.

Knowing what she was asking, Minh shook her head. "There are no healers in the South Pole now," she said sadly, her own eyes wet. "I'm so sorry."

A fresh sob came from Senna. She pulled Soro into her arms and bent over him, her tears falling to freeze on the snow. Aisha, Sakio, and Minh stood nearby, helpless and despairing.

A roar echoed through the silence. All of their heads shot up, and Senna could see what looked like a dot on the northern horizon. It grew rapidly closer until she could make out what it was. With a shock, she recognized the figure.

A blue dragon flared its wings out as it slowed its descent, coming to a sudden stop in a huge puff of snow. Even in her grief, Senna remembered to at least bow her head deferentially to her teacher. "Master Ran," she whispered, awed despite herself.

Ran swung his head to look at her. _He will not live long here_, he said, his voice echoing in all their heads. _You must come with me if he is to survive. Flying is the only way you will get to the North Pole in time_. He looked at Aisha and Sakio, who were standing wide-eyed in awe and a little fear. _You have fought well, children of water. But this is far from over. The war is just beginning_.

Once Senna was seated on Ran's back, with Soro in front of her, Ran tensed for takeoff. Senna looked at Minh. "We'll be back," she said, determination replacing despair.

Ran shot into the air. As they rose higher, Senna tightened her hold on Soro. At this altitude, they could be over a desert and it would still be freezing, and the cold air wasn't going to do him any good. She exhaled sharply, the flames of her Breath of Fire blown out quickly. She hoped that riding dragonback would be fast enough.

* * *

><p>For once, it was quiet in the Northern Water Tribe. Supper was finished, and people were beginning to turn into their homes when one of the wall sentries cried out that something was coming in the air.<p>

Kida and Chief Nekoda rushed out with many of the elders. She could faintly see a dark shape against the darker evening sky, and it was rapidly getting closer. A roar cut through the nervous mumbling, and with a shock, Kida recognized what it must be.

"Clear this area!" she yelled. People looked at her in surprise.

"Do it now!" The authority and urgency in her voice was hard to ignore. People hurriedly rushed to the edge of the clearing, and not a moment too soon, as Ran landed with a booming thud.

"Great spirits above," Nekoda breathed. Kida stepped forward as Senna slid off Ran's back and landed on the snow before falling to her knees under Soro's weight.

Kida rushed forward. Soro's face was pale and his breathing was shallow. She quickly assessed his condition, then called over her son Nanak to carry him. "We'll take him to the spirit pool," she said. They hurried, people cautiously following. Senna looked back at Ran, who was gathering himself up.

_Go, young one_, he told her. _I will not stay any longer_. He flared his wings and took off, throwing to the ground those few who had dared to come close. Senna watched Ran fly away for a moment, silently thanking him, then ran to catch up with Kida.

By the time she caught up. Nanak had gently laid Soro down beside the spirit pool. Senna kneeled beside her friend, brushing back his hair from his pale, clammy face. Kida pulled back the tatters of Soro's shirt and coat in order to see the wound better; her sharp intake of breath made Senna bite her lip anxiously.

Settling into her work, Kida lifted water from the spirit pool and pooled it around her hands, setting them on the gash in Soro's chest. The water began to glow faintly as she did the healing. His face tightened and winced as he hissed in pain, the first movement he'd made since Ran had passed over the middle of the Earth Kingdom. Senna sat worriedly, hoping beyond hope that he would be okay.

He relaxed, letting out his pent-up breath in a near-silent sigh. Senna leaned forward, tears pricking at her eyes, afraid that the healing hadn't worked, but her fear were groundless: color was returning to his pallid face, and his heartbeat and breathing were normal again. The blood and the wound were gone, leaving behind a pale scar as a reminder.

Kida sat back on her heels. "He'll be alright," she said tiredly, but with visible relief. Senna let out a choking sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob; tears spilled out of her eyes as she cried in relief.

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><p>Senna sat in front of Kida and Nekoda in their home. The chief and his wife looked exasperated; Senna, as usual, looked defiant.<p>

"He'll be in good hands here, Senna," Kida told her. "Now that you know he'll be okay, your duty as the Avatar calls you elsewhere."

"I won't leave the North Pole without Soro," Senna stated vehemently, shaking her head stubbornly.

Kida sighed in frustration. "Senna, I understand that you care very much about Soro, but as the Avatar, you must put _your_ needs and desires aside in favor of what the _world_ needs."

Senna stood up, a stubborn scowl on her face. "I think I understand my duties as the Avatar better than you," she said, a dangerous note of defiance in her voice. "I will wait until Soro is well enough to travel, and _then_ we will return to the Fire Nation."

Kida and Nekoda looked surprised. "The Fire Nation? Why?" Nekoda asked.

"I have a bone to pick with my brother," Senna answered, a steely glint to her eye. "I want to know why he attacked a peaceful people, completely unprovoked." With that, she swept out.

As she walked to the infirmary, Senna felt uncomfortable. Her conversation with Kida and Nekoda was the first time she had deliberately ignored the voice of authority. As the Avatar, she knew she was capable of doing so– and would probably _have_ to do so more than this once– but she wasn't sure she'd gone against them for the right reasons.

As well, she hated the reverence people now gave her. It wasn't like she'd changed very much since she'd left. People would stop and bow their heads as she passed, and children she'd always talked to and played with easily would stammer and blush if she said a word. She wanted to scream at them to stop, but losing her composure publicly would only make matters worse.

She sighed. This was probably one of those things she'd have to get used to, she supposed. She just wished she didn't have to.

Her contrary mood lightened as she pushed aside the curtain cloaking Soro's "room." He lay on the bed, looking considerably better than the state he'd come to the North Pole in. He hadn't moved since Kida had managed to save him, but Senna was just glad that he was alive. She sat down on the edge of the bed and draped her arm around him, then leaned back and closed her eyes, exhaustion from the last forty-eight hours finally hitting her.

She felt Soro shift a little, and her eyes flew open as she sat up straighter. A jolt of relief shot through her as he opened his eyes.

He gave a pained half-sigh. "If this is heaven, it looks pretty good so far," he joked faintly. She punched him in the arm, though it was more of a tap. "You idiot," she said softly, not angry in the least. "How do you feel?"

"Like everything hurts," he admitted, slowly pushing himself upright, wincing as he did so. "With the worst headache I've ever had."

"I'm glad you're up," Senna said, scooting over to give him more room. "Not that I was worried." She made a show of bravado, covering up her fear for her friend's life with false non-caring.

Soro, of course, saw right through her, as he always could, and pulled her over. She wrapped her arms around him tightly burying her face in his shoulder. "I've never been so scared in my life," she admitted. "Not when I fell off my glider at the Western Air Temple, not when we were playing on the wall when we were eight, not even when I found out that I was the Avatar. Somehow I never imagined not having you around."

"Well, I didn't exactly plan on getting stabbed," he pointed out wryly. She glared at him. "Thank you for disregarding my heartfelt confession," she snapped, hurt, and stood up.

"Wait, wait," he said, sounding a little alarmed. She sat back down, her scowl from earlier back on her face.

"I'm sorry," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "That came out wrong." He sighed. "I was scared too. At first I was just hoping you and the others were okay. Everything around me kept fading in and out, and I felt like I was trapped inside my own head. And the whole time I hated myself for worrying you and making you cry."

His cheeks were burning red, and Senna could tell that it must have killed him, normally a fairly private person in regard to his feelings, to admit all this. Her mouth twitched into a small smile, and she scooted over and gave him another hug.

* * *

><p>"Do you wonder what it would have been like if we'd never met?" Senna asked. She was stretched out on the bed next to Soro, her head resting on her interlocked hands.<p>

He looked over at her inquiringly. "Why?"

"I don't know. I thought that maybe your near-death experience might have prompted you to consider existential matters of cosmic significance. Do you?"

"Not really," he answered. "We've been such constants in each other's life that the thought never really occurred. I suppose I'd like to think your life would have been much less interesting."

"Probably," she agreed. "We wouldn't have gotten into half as much trouble without each other to egg us on."

He laughed. "Why do you ask?" he repeated, serious once more.

She shrugged, playing with the hem of her tunic. "I don't know," she admitted. "I've been thinking about these kinds of things recently. I need a reminder that I can still be a normal person. More and more lately, people have been treating me like the Avatar, as if I'm not Senna anymore. I hate it." She gave a frustrated sigh and sat up, glaring at nothing in particular. "I never wanted to be the Avatar," she said resentfully. "I never asked for this responsibility."

"But it's yours nonetheless," Soro pointed out.

"But why do _I_ have to suffer for it?" she burst out. "It's not fair!" She drew her legs into her chest and buried her face in her arms wrapped around her knees.

He sat up himself and placed a comforting hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. "I know it's not fair," he told her gently. "I know you don't want to be the Avatar. But you have to do it anyways. And I know you can. Even if you hate doing it, you've always risen to the challenge. You'll figure it out."

She sniffed and lifted her head up. "I wish I was as confident as you," she said in a watery voice.

He nudged her in the arm, which coaxed a smile out of her. They broke into laughter, and he pulled her over into a hug.

* * *

><p><strong>So basically this chapter is a lot of angst and BFF-ness and, as always, I snuck in some Senna snarkiness. No chapter of <em>Legend of Senna<em> is complete without some Senna snarkiness or sarcasm. It's her thing.**

**I LOVE _THE KELTIAD_. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. Except I just finished the last book (last chronologically, it was the second she published..._) so there's no more for me to read. WAAAAAAAAAAAAH DX**

**Yeah, these are my troubles.**

**Oh well. Review, please!**

**~RAH**


	8. Part One, Chapter Eight

**Eh heh heh...so. Yeah. Probably haven't seen me around here in a while! Well, that's because of one legitimate reason and two really not legitimate reasons. The first is: I've been doing college applications. And those are not easy. The other two are: I waste most of my time on Tumblr nowadays, and the time I don't spend on Tumblr I've been using to write another story that sadly will never see the light of day because it's really hard to explain and no one would like it but me. Oh, and I've been doing homework a lot too. So please forgive me, loyal reader(s). Here's a new chapter to make you feel better!**

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><p><strong><em>Chapter Eight<em>**

In the end, it didn't matter whether Senna was willing to leave without Soro or not; they still had to wait another week for their ship to reach the North Pole. This time, it was a much smaller, faster ship their captain had brought, in response to the urgency of Senna's notice.

Oddly enough, Soro was sleeping in the morning the ship arrived. Senna who had (as usual) risen with the dawn, took a liberal amount of glee in waking him up. Waterbending a half-cupful of water, she spun it around showily, delighting in her growing mastery of the element, before letting it fall onto his face.

Soro yelled in shock, waking with a jolt. Grinning wickedly, she airbended a small breeze across his cheek, chilling the wet skin. He groaned and glared at her, wiping the moisture off.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," she said in an overly cheery voice. "The ship is here and we're casting off in an hour."

He gave a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. "Can't a man get a decent amount of sleep anymore?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "It's three hours past dawn, lazy," she admonished him. "I've been up for hours."

"Fine," he conceded grumpily, sitting up. He swung his legs over the bed, letting a breath out in a whoosh, as if he was in pain. Senna, who had been heading back outside, looked back in concern. Soro traced the pale, jagged scar marking the spot where the wound had been, the only reminder left by the spirit pool water. The look on his face was pensive, lost in thought.

"Hey," she called. "You okay?"

"Hmm?" He looked up, as if he'd forgotten she was there. "Oh, it's nothing. It just kind of…feels weird." He looked back down. "It's strange to think that, had Master Ran not come when he did, I'd be dead."

Senna came over and sat next to him. "You'll go crazy if you dwell on this too much," she said. "Trust me. There are a thousand things in life that could be different had one little event not happened. Thinking too much about 'what ifs' doesn't do you any good."

He laughed. She looked at him inquiringly. "What?" she asked, confused.

"Nothing," he chuckled. "You've just changed a lot. You may not realize it, but you have. If someone had told me three years ago that you'd be giving sage advice, I'd have told them they'd spent too much time in the sun."

Not really sure whether he'd given her a compliment or an insult, she pushed him over, and he fell backwards, laughing even harder.

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><p>Judging by the way the Fire Nation soldiers had attacked her at the South Pole, Senna was not at all sure how welcome she was going to be in Xing, so she had the captain discreetly dock the ship where it wouldn't be easily seen.<p>

Senna eyed the royal palace in the distance. Turning, she looked at Soro and the captain. "Stay here," she told them. She cut off Soro's rising protest. "_Stay here_," she repeated firmly, a warning tone to her voice. It was a testament to the change that Soro had noted that he listened to her this time. "I doubt very much that we're going to be welcome. This is between my brother and me. I want you here in case our exit is…hasty."

Soro's eyebrows shot up. "Do you think it'll come to that?" he asked.

"I'm prepared for anything," she answered grimly. "The Southern Water Tribe hasn't provoked war on any nation in seven hundred years. I don't think my brother's justification is going to be very justified." Having brought her Air Nomad glider with her, she snapped it open. "I'll be back," she promised, and with a gust of wind, she took off.

* * *

><p>Senna angled herself towards the ceremonial courtyard, then snapped the glider closed and dropped into a sharp dive. At the last second, she reopened the glider and swooped in to land at the top of the long staircase. A few guards strode forward to stop her, but a second later they recognized her and slowed.<p>

They bowed deeply. "We are sorry, Princess," one said, "but we cannot let you pass."

Senna's eyebrows snapped together. "And why not?" she demanded, her voice full of the regal arrogance that she normally did away with.

"By order of the Fire Lord, you are not to be allowed into the palace."

Her eyes narrowed. "You will let me pass," she said dangerously. "I don't want to hurt you. Don't force my hand."

The guards' expressions were grim, but determined. "We are truly sorry, Your Highness," the first said simply. "But we have been ordered to use force if necessary to keep you back."

In answer, Senna thrust her staff forwards, throwing the guards back with a gust of wind. She darted past their crumpled forms, taking the familiar paths to the throne room. She easily evaded and defeated any guards she came across, only halting when she came to the door to the throne room. A contingent of guards stood at the ready, blocking her way.

She held her staff in a guard position. "Step aside," she ordered them. "Before I have to hurt you."

"We cannot do that, Princess," the lead guard said. "We are sorry." He shot a fireball at her, which she dodged by flipping into the air. The rest of the guards followed suit, and she dodged and deflected with a combination of firebending and airbending.

She planted herself a good ten feet from the tall doors and spun around, letting out a wave of combined fire and air that knocked to the ground those guards that were still standing. The doors were also blown open by the blast, and Senna stalked past the collapsed guards into the throne room.

It was both darker and brighter than she remembered it being. Whereas before the throne room had a lot of natural light (with lamps for the evening and night) with two ever-burning torches on either side of the throne, the only source of light now was a row of fire in front of the throne, casting a harsh glow around the room.

"Senna," her brother said. He sat on the throne behind the wall of fire, so she could really only see his outline. "What a pleasant surprise." His voice told her that her visit was anything but welcome.

"It will not be so pleasant when you hear what I have to say," she shot back. She thought she faintly saw him frown.

"Whatever problems you have, you may bring them to me, my sister," he told her. "But as your Fire Lord, I would ask that next time you bow before addressing me."

Her eyes narrowed. "And as I am the Avatar, you should know that I properly owe allegiance to the world, not to any specific nation, _my brother_," she retorted. "So I will not bow."

He stepped through the fire with ease, but he was now backlit, so she still couldn't see his face. "Very well," he said, his voice colder. "What is it you have to say?"

"Why am I barred from entering this palace, which is still my home?" she demanded. "Why am I not allowed to speak with you without first getting past twenty guards– which was easy, I might add. And why, dear brother, did you attack the Southern Water Tribe, with no apparent reason?"

He placed his hands on his hips, the sleeves of his voluminous robes hiding his hands. "I would ask you to hear me out," he said, not directly answering her questions. He turned away from her slightly, walking alongside the wall of fire.

"This world has been at peace for three hundred years. And the nations have all prospered. But they have also grown decadent. At this pace, we will drive ourselves to self-ruin, like so many civilizations of the past."

"And you're trying to start a war because you think that the nations are _lazy_?" she asked incredulously.

He held up a hand. "No," he said. "That would be ridiculous." He turned back towards her to regard the map of the world inlaid into the floor. "Look at history. No matter how ironclad a peace is, no matter how long it lasts, someone will always come along who will want to break it. What I am trying to do is to unite the world under one banner, to prevent the need for such wars. The world would share its prosperity together–"

"Under the banner of the Fire Nation?" Senna interrupted, her tone of voice skeptical. "Your reasoning doesn't make sense. If _you_ would take a look at history, you'll see that the Fire Nation tried your plan already. It didn't work very well. The world is not meant to be one country, Kuzon. It is meant to be four. There must be balance, or the world will be thrown into chaos. Besides, the Fire Nation's entire military isn't enough to take on the entire world at once. Even if you tried to take it one nation at a time, the others would unite against you."

"But you're forgetting the comet," he reminded her.

Her eyes widened. "Kuzon, no–" she began.

"The power of Sozin's Comet has been used by our forefathers to achieve total victory. I shall do the same. It comes in less than a year, plenty of time to prepare."

Her hands were clenched and trembling. "You don't know what you're doing, Kuzon!" she cried. "You– you–"

Suddenly the strange sensation she'd had in the South Pole, of the world slowing and fading away, came back again. This time she recognized it for what it was: the Avatar State. _No! I still can't control it!_

* * *

><p>Kuzon actually took a step back as his sister began to glow and rise in the air. In the brief time she'd spent in the Fire Nation for their mother's funeral, he hadn't gotten to spend much time with her, and he'd actually forgotten that she was the Avatar. Now he could see it all too well.<p>

The sheer power, the sheer energy coming off of her was staggering. He was one of– no, _the_ most powerful firebender in the Fire Nation, even more prodigious than Senna. But despite this astounding skill, he was not at all sure he would win this fight.

Senna pointed at him. Her eyes were glowing blue, frightening, with no life in them– just light. The air whipping around her made her hair fly and dance about. It only made her look more fearsome.

"Fire Lord Kuzon," she said, and it was not just her voice that he heard– it was like a thousand echoes came with it. She spoke with the terrifying power of ages, with the voices of the hundreds of Avatars that had come before her. "You threaten the world and the balance of the elements with your arrogance and your greed. _You must be stopped_."

Without even the slightest warning, her hand whipped up, then back down, unleashing a whip of fire towards him. He created a whip of his own, bringing it to meet hers in an explosive clash.

She attacked again and again, pressing on relentlessly. Kuzon knew now that his sister was not in control of herself. She was fighting with a skill, with an instinct that he knew, from hours and hours of practicing together, to be not her own.

He had no idea how far she was in her waterbending training, but there was no water nearby, so that left her with only firebending and airbending that she could use. But he knew that those were her strongest elements of the three, and for the first time since his sister had unceremoniously burst into the throne room, he began to feel fear. She was like a machine– not holding back, not letting up, just keeping going and going. She used firebending and airbending interchangeably, lightning-fast and unrelenting. It was getting harder and harder for him to deflect her attacks; he was being forced onto the defensive.

She took in a deep breath and roared out a maelstrom of fire and air that sent him flying into the wall behind him. Before he could even catch his breath, she bended the air around him into a whirling cage of wind. He couldn't move; he could barely even breathe, much less bend.

The sight of his sister standing ten feet in front of him, her eyes narrowed and glowing, holding him captive in a ball of air, was menacing. She seemed about to deliver a final, deadly blow, but to his surprise, the glow around her and in her eyes faded, and the winds that had been constantly swirling around her faded. She closed her eyes and let him down, and the cage of wind dissipated away.

"No," she said softly. "I won't kill you. You're my brother." She turned around and began to walk away.

His eyes narrowed. "You should know as well as I that you never turn your back on your enemy, sis," he yelled after. "He might still be able to strike!" He pushed himself halfway up and sent a comet of fire straight at her.

* * *

><p>Senna was still shaking as she walked away. The battle must have been intense, she gathered, since as usual she couldn't remember what had happened.<p>

She felt the heat behind her and whirled around just in time, but not soon enough to deflect the incoming attack entirely. She quickly bended a ball of fire around herself, enough to divert the main brunt of the blast, though she was still knocked off of her feet. Gathering herself up, she spied her staff, discarded in the struggle, and with a quick bit of airbending, used the lingering smoke from the blast to give herself some cover as she dashed away.

She headed straight for the nearest bit of open sky– anything to get her out of the palace. She could hear guards coming and quickened her pace, leaping and snapping open her glider as soon as she saw the sky. She used the air to get herself as high as possible as _soon_ as possible, where she could hopefully escape most notice.

* * *

><p>Soro was pacing, back and forth. The captain had tried to get him to sit down, but he'd grunted and ignored anyone who tried to talk to him.<p>

To be honest, the captain was worried too. Princess Senna's exit had been ominous, at best, and matters were only worsened when they heard what sounded like an explosion from the direction of the royal palace.

Luckily, a few minutes later, they saw a dot in the sky that rapidly grew larger, and before long, it took the shape of the princess. The captain's worry came back when he saw how unsteady the princess's flight path was, and as she came close to the ship, he– and most of the crew on deck– hurried forward to help her. Soro, of course, got there first, and caught the princess as she half-fell to the deck.

"We need to get out of here as fast as you can, Captain," she told him in a tired voice, leaning on Soro for support. "It's not safe here."

"Where to, Princess?" he asked, business-like in the face of potential danger.

"The Southern Water Tribe," she said as Soro half-carried her below deck. "I'm thinking I need to talk with Nichika."

* * *

><p><strong>So I apologize if the fight scene wasn't descriptive enough. I'm REALLY REALLY BAD at writing fight scenes. They're a lot easier to see than describe.<strong>

**Well, I just finished writng Chapter Nine (I'm trying to stay a chapter or two ahead of myself, though I don't know why anymore...), which was the one that was taking so long. (I was also distracted SORRY.) So hopefully the next two chapters should go easier (if I can remember to actually write them). This story will be split into two parts, and Part One will have eleven chapters, so we're nearing the midpoint! Yeah, this story is way longer than anything else I've written. :D Fun stuff!**

**Sorry for the delay, guys. Please review!**

**Cheers,**

**~RAH**


	9. Author's Note

**This is a heads-up to all of my wonderful readers. Lately I've been somewhat dissatisfied with some elements of **_**The Legend of Senna**_**, and combined with the imminent premiere of **_**The Legend of Korra**_**, I've made the decision to take down this fic and revise it. That doesn't mean I won't finish it! But I want to change things around, and I want to include canon from **_**Legend of Korra**_**, so **_**Legend of Senna**_** is on hold for the foreseeable future, possibly until after **_**Legend of Korra**_** has finished its run. To those of you who have been enjoying this story, I'm very sorry, and I hope that I can repay with an even better story in the future. I might possibly change the title because holy cats, was I unoriginal with this one. Thank you so much to everyone who's read this so far. Truly, you mean the world to me, and every review makes me happy. I hope you will be on the lookout for this story in the future; I will message those of you who have reviewed this so far when I do get around to reposting it.**

**Happy writing,**

**~Rebel-Angel-Hero**


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